Rooibos, sometimes known as "Red Tea" (although not from the actual tea bush), is an herb that grows only in South Africa. Our rooibos is slightly fruity and smooth with a mild, herbal texture. Very forgiving - won't over-steep.
Customers use these reviews to describe their experience with Rooibos, including flavor, aroma, preparation preferences, strength, and how the tea fits into daily routines. Browse the full review history page by page to compare tasting notes, steeping tips, and favorite ways to enjoy this tea.
I can t have regular black tea blends-- I m even sensitive to decaf. I was told by a friend to try Adagio s rooibos, and wow, was I not disappointed. I love the earthy black tea-like flavor! I really miss black tea and I ve found that rooibos really hits the spot. Delicious and fantastic with some pure stevia or Adagio s rock sugar.
Very good, woody, nutty, mildly medicinal scent. It took a few cups before I acclimated to the taste, and found that I enjoyed it. Being caffeine free and completely lacking in bitterness, this is my preferred tea to sip on through the afternoon.
Deep and aromatic, this is a perfect for anyone who prefers more earthy teas.
Nice basic rooibos. Tastes somewhat sweet, and the lack of caffeine makes it good for night time.
I love rooibos tea and this is delicious! One of my favorites, for sure.
I really like mixing this one with other things, especially fruit, but it's good on its own too. It's a little earthy and maybe a little bit nutty.
I dislike rooibos, although Adagio has excellent blends that include it. This is fine for a plain rooibos.
I love rooibos - nutty, woody, sweet. Goes well with cream & sugar, is super versatile in blends, steeps to a beautiful rust color. I like drinking it straight, or with sugar, or even brewing double strength for milk tea. The only down side for me is that, like a lot of tisanes/herbals, it doesn’t hold up to multiple steeps.
Steeped 212F 8min
Just go buy one of the rooibos blends. I really see no reason to have this separate. Pecan Turtle, Nutcracker, and Vanilla Chai are some of the amazing blends that adagio serves.
Not horrible, just not my cuppa. Tastes a bit like drinking bark.
I've been drinking rooibos for several years, but have never had Adagio's plain rooibos. As I compared my CommuniTEA sample to a rooibos that was brought to us from South Africa, I noted that the Adagio tea has more leaves and less stem (a higher grade?). I steeped both teas at 212F for 6 minutes. The Adagio tea was a lovely red, while the South African rooibos was dark brown. I found that Adagio's tea is smoother, sweeter, and less 'woody' in taste. The other brand tasted bolder and more medicinal. Both tasted better with a drop of honey, though. The plain rooibos would be good as a blender with other tea flavors. It also makes a tasty iced tea.
Not my favorite although I will try it again to see if I like it more. This was a bit of sensory overload for me secondary to not being able to “match” what the scent and taste was similar to. The new flavor was too different that it led me to not like it. However, I noticed a sweetness to it and I think if I can better sort out what the smell and favors are similar too, I may enjoy this tea even more.
I don't love rooibos in general. This is fine but not something I need to have again.
Today’s communiTea was a simple classic rooibos tea. As it steeped, a beautiful rich caramel color stares at me through my glass teapot. And an almost toasty nutty flavor not only fills my kitchen but balances perfectly on my tongue. Each sip finishes with a mild, nutty yet slightly sweet, fruity flavor. Today I sipped it plain. But may I suggest, adding a tad of frothy cream w/ drizzle of honey, it will transforms into a delicious slightly sweet cuppa tea. (steeped 5mins @212)
The dry in the bag aroma is earthy and perhaps a bit like sawdust. Not at all unpleasant, just different. It has a beautiful reddish brown color in the cup. I found the taste to be a cross between wet wood and wet cardboard. I drank most of the cup because I heard it is good for you but would not wish to drink any more of it. 212 degrees for 5 minutes, plain.
Rooibos is simply awful. The smell literally turns my stomach, and the taste isn't any better.
It's not much better in blends.
My kids seem to like it, which is interesting.
It smells and tastes like a barn without the cute animals in it. Even sugar wouldn’t help it.
I am a huge fan of rooibos blends, but today's Communitea made me realize I've never tried it on its own. I really loved it, a bit sweet and earthy it held up well on its own and I'm glad I had the chance to try it!
Plain red rooibos is likely to never be a favorite of mine as I am one of those who find it has a medicinal taste. I wonder if it's like cilantro having a soap taste for some but not others. I love it when blended with other flavors (my bag of rooibos earl grey is going quite fast), but on its own I find it hard to drink.
This was a really good tea. Not very strong just a mild cup of tea. Added a little sweetener. Would definitely buy this tea.
Rooibos is one of my favorite teas! Love the flavor with a bit of sweetener.
Just not a fan of rooibos in general, but it on it's own is just not a good taste. Reminds me of mulch.
I went into this with an open mind, despite historically not enjoying rooibos on it's own. This smells like sweet wood, close to cherry wood chips, both in the packet and when steeped. To me, this tastes like tree bark, only not in a fun or tangy way like cinnamon. It just tastes like wood. I enjoy rooibos as a supporting element to flavors like cocoa or fruit, but as a standalone drink this one just doesn't do it for me.
7mins at 212F
I received a sample of this tea through Feburary's CommuniTEA box. On with the review proper:
Straight out of the pouch, the tea is fine, with a mesquite, camp-fire, woody-sawdust smell to it. I place it in one of my tea filters before deciding otherwise and settling it in another, though I did lose some of the tea in the process. Not much, but some. I brewed it in 212 degree water for a hair over 5 minutes, as recommended.
It brews to a lovely deep amber color, and smells, well, like a campfire. The woody scent I picked up on at the beginning is just as strong, if not stronger, and is the immediate taste at the front. It's not complex, didn't get bitter at all, and was, well, a wonderful campfire beverage.
I added, oh, maybe a quarter of a teaspoon of sugar, if that, to the 6ish oz. of tea, which immediately made it more enjoyable. It brightened up the flavors considerably, and helped to fire to the campfire smoke to it. Still, I wanted to try it with a splash of milk, which I did, and which I consider a mistake. It mellowed the tea out once more, and while it's certainly not undrinkable, and certainly not entirely unenjoyable.
While I gave this a 'nay' in the CommuniTEA tab, I will leave it as a merely 'okay' here. I won't buy straight-up rooibos on my own, and I will...wrinkle my nose should someone give it to me, but I do enjoy it in blends, and I can see how it would be a useful base to blended teas, especially to add a smokier flavor, should there be other flavors to accompany the rooibos.
Red rooibos on its own is an interesting drink, it’s quite woody and hay like. However, when blended or jazzed up, it shines. It pairs fantastically with nuts. For today’s CommuniTEA, I steeped this in almond milk and water, then added a drop of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and poured it over ice. Made for a delicious latte!
I don't usually love rooibos teas, when reaching for a caffeine free tea my preferences lie more with honeybush or the green rooibos, but I always try the communitea packet to get the full experience! I brewed it up as recommended and was rewarded with a lovely looking reddish cup of tea. The taste, is both woody and sweet, a bit of a strange combination , but I don't find it medicinal or bad, just not something that I would tend to reach for when there are so many great alternatives available that are more appealing to my palate. That being said, I followed the example of another communitea member and added a flavored coffee creamer to half of my cup (I usually take my tea straight) and was amazed at how this transformed the meh cup into something tasty, decadent and wonderful. This was a lovely surprise, as it offers a nice alternative for nighttime tea drinking, that feels rich, tasty and satisfying.
I've never tried plain rooibos so when I saw this was a day in CommuniTEA I was very excited! After steeping for 6 minutes with boiling water, the color was a wonderful woodsy red. It tastes woody too! Definitely seems like a good canvas for flavoring, but it's pretty good on its own too. I added some sugar which changed up the flavor a little bit and made it taste more like tea than sawdust. I resteeped for 6 minutes as well and the flavor was the same. It's an interesting flavor and I'm undecided if I should pick up a bag to drink plain or just pick up a few blends that uses it.
I tried this as part of the CommuniTEA box. I've only ever had red rooibos in blends so I was interested to try it plain. I had a feeling I wouldn't like this one, but gave it a try anyway. I've only found one blended rooibos that I've liked. Every other one has tasted like cough syrup to me and this one was no different. Took a few sips and the rest went down the drain.
Not my type of tea. Tea texture reminded me of coffee. Color was very pretty. I did not pick up an sweet flavor and found it bitter even with rock sugar.
Rooibos lends itself to flavors, so having a packet of plain, unflavored rooibos was an interesting choice in today's CommuniTea. It's fine plain. Nothing wrong with it, but the flavor is so mild that it doesn't do anything for me. I just simply added some coconut-flavored Stevia drops to sweeten, and that was just enough flavor to ramp it up a bit. This would, of course, be a fun base to experiment with different dried fruits and other flavors to find something special of your own.
I've never been a huge fan of rooibos and this is no exception. However, the boldness and richness of this tea is certainly something to its credit. While I don't enjoy this tea very much, I am able to admit it's not a bad tea.
Some people don't like rooibos at all, saying it's too medicinal tasting (like cough syrup), which I can see somewhat. For me, it's more earthy and woody than anything. It makes a gorgeous red tea with a mild yet rounded flavor. There's no bitterness or astringency, making it easy to sip all day.
Plain rooibos is pretty... plain, so it's best if you have your own additions (herbs, dried fruit, flavored honeys or syrups) to experiment with. My second steep (7 minutes) was tasty and soothing with some honey added.
I like rooibos tea to begin with but have not had it plain for a while. Mostly I end up having it as a blend. It is one of the few teas that I don't mind if there are tiny pieces in the bottom of my cup. I steeped the CommuniTEA packet in 12 oz boiling water for 5 min. It is impossible to over steep this tea. (See the Roots campaign. The grower recommends keeping it on your stove all day!) I love the beautiful red color. This plain rooibos has a woody aroma which disappears when I add a drop of locally sourced raw honey. I generally don't like to re-brew rooibos tea (I find it too weak) so it is probably better to make a big pot and experiment with additions to each new cup than to compare 2nd or third brews.
So delicious! I steeped the sample in 8 oz for 4.5 mins and the taste was devine! While I love caffeinated teas (which rooibos is not) the soft vanilla natural flavor will always be soothing and relaxing for me.
Reviewing along with the CommuniTEA today: I love rooibos; and I think that Adagio provides a very good, very drinkable rooibos. For me, this tea is all about honey flavors without the sweet. It reminds me of a raw, wild herb honey, on the nose and when I take a sip. It's almost like you can taste the many herbal plants that a honey bee harvested pollen from, even though it was not honey bee created.
The CommuniTea packet today contained a single ingredient: rooibos tea. Full of very fine small woody bits, the tea packet smells of damp fresh straw with a hint of a vaniila-like scent. As usual with a rooibos tea blend, I add an extra layer of filtration using a secondary floating brewing basket inside the VelociTEA's metal strainer to keep all the small bits from clogging the pump intake. Brewing as an herbal tea for 7 minutes at 212ºF produces a deep amber red tisane.
The flavor is of a bright and smooth yet subtly sweet straw with a slight vanilla tinge to it. Comparing it to these isn't a perfect match, as rooibos has a unique flavor. Tasting this plain variety gives a picture of what it's adding to other blends. The smooth mouthfeel is very lusciously thick and full-bodied, yet very smooth without any bitterness or astringency like a Camellia tea leaf has. In contrast, there is a very slight natural sweet character, with a woody vanilla-like layer. The finish is smooth and persists long after a sip.
Overall, this is a very nice caffeine free option that is known to be a great base for herbal blends. Adding a small amount of rock sugar as sweetener brings out more of the vanillin component of the flavor, and a sweetness reminiscent of light honey (though only rock sugar was added!). This tisane might seem plain to most people, but it's actually quite enjoyable if you have the time and curiosity to explore rooibos' taste on it's own.
Initially I thought the scent was off-putting and the taste was strange. But it's growing on me the more I drink it. Added about a teaspoon of sugar which helped give it a flavor boost but isn't sweet.
I love a good rooibos tea. Admittedly, most rooibos I've had was blended with something. I think this was maybe my first straight up rooibos with nothing extra. It is a beautiful red color in the cup. Doesnt have much fragrance I could discern. I mixed in some stevia I had at the office. That adds just enough sweetness for me. For folks who like rooibos, this is a great tea. Were I to buy this tho, I'd likely add something to it to blend, or use a touch more sweetener.
I have to agree with another reviewer who said this tastes like 'wet wood.' I don't enjoy rooibos as a rule, but I find I do enjoy it when it has some other flavor profile mixed in. Rooibos on its own does not do it for me. This might be good with fruit flavors added.
Im not a fan of Rooibos, but its great for what it is.
I like it. The flavor is hard to describe - kind of earthy or woody. It's not bitter and almost has some fruity notes to my palate. I used the rock sugar crystals to sweeten and enjoyed it very much. It's a nice caffeine-free alternative.
Red roobois tea is not for everyone. The taste is unlike any other. Ruby colored when brewed, there's no bitterness or astringency, and there's more of a nutty flavor rather than fruity. This tea is great to blend with other teas like vanilla or caramel. The lack of caffeine makes it a nice evening cup.
The simplicity of this makes it open for the drinker to do anything they want to it. Nice simple sample for the CommuniTEA box.
I enjoyed this rooibos tea today. Rooibos blends well with a variety of flavors and its health benefits are many. It stands up well to additions of sugar, honey, flavored syrups, dairy additions, or a slice of lemon. It’s versatile that way.
This reddish-brown tea had a cedar-like aroma in today’s CommuniTEA packet.
The burnt red-colored tea leaves steep to a beautiful amber color. Its woodsy aroma stays true in its brewed form. I steeped 2 tsp. for 5 min. at 201F in a large 16 oz. mug twice.
Upon the first sip, there is a woodsy flavor with a slight caramel aftertaste. A dollop of honey made this a delightful sip for me. I added a slice of lemon and it enhanced the flavor more. It became a citrusy herbal treat with nice complexity and a soft mouthfeel. Since there are very low tannins in this tea, I did not experience any bitterness or astringency. As a black tea drinker, I found this tea a refreshing change from my usual tannin laden teas. Being caffeine-free it can be sipped anytime.
Rooibos always tastes like its gone bad to me. I always get the flavor of an unwashed tea cup. No thanks!
Smooth and sweet, reminds me of kind of a floral honey. This tea begs to be used in all sorts of blends! I could see it being good with fruity and other herbal teas. It's perfectly pleasant on its own, though I like it in blends more.
I just did not like the medicine like taste. It did have a nutty flavor also but that didn’t help it either. Just not fir me.
This is a standard plain rooibos, not super medicinal or woody tasting when hot. I enjoy it well enough for what it is, but rooibos nutcracker is delicious, while I wouldn’t be drinking this today if it weren’t the tea of the day 😁 Overall, a good plain rooibos if that’s your thing.
It's good, just maybe a bit bland- after tasting some of the other rooibos blends here!
On it's own it still holds up, it has a smooth subtle earthy/nutty flavor to it.
To date I have only had rooibos in blends, and I've hated them all. The rooibos always comes through with a weird medicinal scent/taste. I have never been able to finish one cup where red rooibos is present. So, I was beyond shocked when the smell of the brewed, plain rooibos was woody and earthy, with none of those medicinal scents that I have come to expect. The first sip was actually not bad, and I kept drinking waiting for it to turn on me. Nope, just a nutty, woody flavor, while not overly exciting, was not terrible either, and before I knew it my cup was empty. Honestly, I probably would have gone for a second steep, but I had already pitched the tea leaves with the thought I was going to hate it. Moral of the story, preconceived notions are sometimes wrong. I won't go as far as to say I will be purchasing this, and I still don't look forward to blends with this as the base, but today this tea has surprised me. (reviewed through CommuniTEA; 5 min @ 212F)